Classic Fools
by Hamnet Hensley
Summary: HouseCameron. They like each other, blah blah blah. You know the drill. I'll be expecting some bad reviews.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D. or its characters, yada yada yada.

Chapter 1.

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All you can hear is the constant clicking of heels on the floor. Empty hallways reverberated the sounds. Even on the saddest of days she always radiated with beauty. Her white coat swiftly floating, following behind like it always had, seeming as if it always gave her the two feet of protective room she needed around her. It was six thirty in the morning and a flushed Doctor Allison Cameron was coming into work quite early today.

She got to her office, sat down, sighed in exhaustion, and looked around her empty desk for work to get started on. No cases. Not surprising. Monday's were usually slow. No mail to be found? There was always mail to sort out. She looked more, lifting papers and books while checking underneath them. Nothing but air. Another sigh.

She tipped off her heels leaving them under her desk (no need to look professional if there was no one around to impress), when she noticed she had spilled some of her coffee on her blouse, probably from the car ride there. "Damn." She got up and went to grab the handle of the door which separated the conference room from the office of Doctor Gregory House. Locked. She pulled at it again. "Goddamn. This door is never locked." Could there be one day in her life when something goes her way? She walked out of the conference room and into the hallway to try the other entrance. This one was open. She tilted her head.

She entered the office. It smelt of scotch and cigars. She actually loved that smell, but frowned when she had realized that she would never admit that to the man who was the source of the wonderful odor. So many thoughts ran through her head at that moment. Why had he been drinking? He only drinks when he's depressed or when he's celebrating. There was nothing to celebrate. Was he depressed? What was he depressed about?

She shook her trying to free herself from her thoughts. She looked on House's desk for mail. There was a bunch of messy papers there thrown on top of more messy papers. The mail was there, hidden under the garbage on his desk, but they were already opened. "What the-"

"Good morning," House nearly shouted as he limped into the office. A shocked Cameron jumped up and immediately turned in his direction. "What the hell are you doing?," House asked.

The flushed Cameron blinked a couple of times, still in shock from the slight fright she was given. She didn't even notice that he was in early too. "I- th- there was no mail. On my desk. And I- I-."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What the hell are you doing _here_?," House asked as he sat down in his chair and looked at the mess on his desk.

"I wasn't looking through your stuff!," she yelled.

House looked at Cameron oddly. "O-kay, well I could care less about my stuff. It's not so interesting. The thing that is interesting though is why you're here so early, and why you look like crap."

"Oh. Yeah. Well I just couldn't get some sleep so I guess I decided I'd come in early."

"And the crap part?," House asked nosily.

"U-uh, that might have something to do with the fact that I had no sleep last night," Cameron said in her struggle for an attempt to sound somewhat confident.

"Hmm." House rubbed his beard.

"Hmm, what?," Cameron asked in slight confusion.

"You've shown up to work early several times before probably for the same reason, but your hair was always perfectly done along with makeup and clothes, and I'm pretty sure your outfits were complete with shoes." House knew he was on to something.

They both looked at her feet. "Oh!," Cameron reddened, "I just thought that I was the only one here so I kinda made myself comfortable."

"So what you're saying is that you _need_ comfort right now?"

"Well-"

House continued, "That must mean that something terribly, terribly wrong must have happened over the weekend."

"I-"

House unnecessarily interrupted, "Did your cat run away? Did you forget to get Mommy a birthday present? Did Daddy die? Am I getting warm, Dr. Cameron?"

Cameron took a long breath and glared at him. At that moment House felt the heat under her leer, but continued to keep his posture. He knew he hit something.

"You can be a real jerk, House." House decided not to say anything as he watched Cameron march out of his office.

House slowly leaned back into his chair. He blasted his music, put his feet up on his desk, and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

-1Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D., and probably never will.

_I usually don't write as quickly as this, so please don't assume anything of it. Also, I truly enjoyed reading the reviews that I have received so far. I think it just may have risen my self-esteem a tad to a new high that I haven't felt in a long while, and so I give a rare thank you to those who have put me in my warm and fuzzy place. Read on, read on…_

Chapter 2.

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Ten seconds had passed since House had closed his eyes in hopes of relaxation. In this ten second time interval, he found no relaxation whatsoever. He was not sure as to why this was. Cameron. O, how that woman distracted him. Was he that curious about what had happened over her weekend? Or was he concerned that something bad had really happened. He was vexed by his own thoughts. Vexed by the fact that he felt even the slightest concern for her. So many thoughts ran through his head in just ten seconds. He would have thought about the whole dilemma all day without directly asking Cameron herself, but his thoughts were rudely interrupted when he felt a cool draft pass over him and enter his office. Knowing someone had opened the door and entered the room, he for once was looking forward to a conversation to escape his dreaded mind. He opened his eyes and shut off his music.

"Why the hell are you here so early?," House asked.

"House, I have to come in early. It's my job. Wait. Why are you here so early? And why does it smell like a pool hall in here?" Cuddy's face quickly turned to one of disgust. She hated that smell.

House decided to answer Cuddy's last question. "All the hot chicks dig this smell. I guess you're not hot. Well your face isn't anyway. That ass of yours, well…" House simply shrugged as if that finished his sentence.

"Are you drunk?!," Cuddy asked the glossy-eyed House. It didn't take an idiot to put two and two together.

"That may explain why I don't remember what had happened last night. Although I do remember an incredibly pretty girl coming to my house last night."

Cuddy raised her hand to put anything else he was about to say to a halt. "Okay, now, what happened?" She figured she'd get the question that was on her mind out of the way as soon as possible before he started to rant on about anything else.

"Who said something had happened?" House evaded the question, but honestly had no idea as to what Cuddy was talking about.

"Clearly something had happened between you two."

"Oh. Right!," House played. "Well I brought Glitter from the pool hall in here so we could have rough, wild, uncomplicated sex." House smirked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I meant between yourself and Dr. Cameron. I saw her march out of this office as if she was marching out of her father's funeral." Cuddy mentally slapped herself for using such a metaphor that toyed with the terms of life and death.

House paused at this statement. He could have sworn that he felt a small bit of guilt as he recalled his conversation with Cameron previously. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized that Cuddy was calling his name to get his attention. How long had he been staring off into oblivion? He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. "Can I help you?," House asked in an irritated tone.

"In fact, yes. Yes, you-"

As House quickly got up from his chair he cut Cuddy off. "I have to pee." He was already in the hallway when Cuddy turned around face him.

"You have a case!," Cuddy yelled amazed at how fast the cripple could actually go.

"Desk!," House shouted back over his shoulder as he limped down the hallway.

Cuddy was surprised that House was semi-accepting the case without interrogating her about its interest, or his interest in the case, or her interest in the case. She shrugged it off thinking that it was to her advantage not being abused by House's this-is-a-boring-case speech. She had better things to do. Cuddy put the file on his desk and left.

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"You like her."

"I do not," House snapped at his best friend who was peeing two urinals away.

"If someone's on your mind for that long you like them," Wilson reasoned. House glared at him and then resumed to urinate. Why did he have to be right all the time? "You really ought to tell her how you feel. She always did have a little crush on you. I mean you better tell her something soon, before she goes on vacation and all." House quickly looked up at Wilson. "It is only going to be for the rest of the week," Wilson continued. "So you could just tell her Monday I guess, that is if you are planning on telling her anything that involves you and your manly feelings towards her at all."

"What vacation?"

"You mean you haven't heard? I figured you'd be the first she'd tell, being her boss and whatnot."

"Heard what?" Wilson had House's full attention.

"House, her father…passed away over the weekend." House stared wide-eyed at Wilson. "She's going to her parents' place for the week."

Was he feeling guilty? He was just joking about her father dying to her when, in fact, he actually did. He should feel guilty. He crushed Cameron's heart after it was already crushed by her father's death. Should he apologize? No, he shouldn't. That would be out of character for him. Damn. He zipped up his fly, washed his hands, and limped out of the bathroom. "Don't do anything foolish now!," Wilson yelled as the restroom's door slowly closed. Wilson was almost able to feel House's eyes roll. Wilson washed his hands and was left smiling at what seemed to be his best friend's new found acceptance with his emotions.

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House got off the elevator and made his way to the conference room, but only to find two male ducklings as he entered.

"We've got a case," Foreman said.

Chase continued on, "Seventeen-year-old male who's vomiting-"

"Where's Cameron?," House asked ignoring the other men.

"Uh, she just left actually. She decided she'd start her vacation earlier than planned and Cuddy gave her the green light," Foreman answered.

House looked at Foreman and Chase before rushing towards the elevator. Why was he feeling like this? He had never let guilt drive him before. This felt so different. The guilt-ridden House finally arrived at the parking lot.

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Once Cameron got in her car she immediately burst into tears. She had held in her emotions long enough so no one noticed that she was a mess on the inside. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. Her frantic hands started the car. Oddly, she found this quite difficult. Her hands were shaking so much. She felt so miserable. She felt like a complete fool. She gripped the steering wheel in an attempt to lessen the shaking. She stared at her hands. Noticing whiteness in her knuckles just made her cry harder. Why was she so pathetically emotional? She could picture House saying something like that directly to her face.

At that moment there was aggressive knocking on Cameron's window. Cameron jumped instantly. She looked through the window at her sweaty boss who was also out of breath. Had he run here? God she loved it when he sweat, but despite this fact she wanted to be alone to wallow in her thoughts. She dug her face in her hands in embarrassment and anger, ignoring House's constant knocking. "Cameron! Open the damn door!," House yelled. When he received no answer he noticed the door was unlocked so he opened the door himself. He bent down at the waist leaning against the open door staring at the crying Cameron.

"Go away," Cameron barked.

"Cameron, I didn't know. I'm- I'm sorry." It was awkward for him to apologize at all. He didn't even know why he was doing so. His apology hung in the air for a few seconds.

"Me too," she said. It was almost a whisper. He stood up looking down at her. He stood back, allowing her enough room to close the door.

Tires screeched as Cameron drove off, leaving House standing in the lot, staring at the vacant parking space.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D. or any of its amazingly unique characters.

Chapter 3.

* * *

Greg House had plopped himself on his couch at home that evening. How is it possible for one woman to cause so much stress and frustration? He was leaning forward, elbows on knees, and hands digging into his eye sockets. He realized that it was time for one of his soap operas, but something was different. His soaps always finished with a happy ending. He found that he could no longer stand it. He was becoming more and more depressed and more and more miserable because of the false hope they gave him. He was a lonely, old cripple. He limped over to his piano where bottles of scotch had lain, some brand new, some completely empty, and some unusually opened ones that were partially full. For some reason he opened a brand new bottle. He wanted to start fresh, not partially effected by the past. He poured himself a glass and quickly drank it. His alcohol consumption had dramatically increased over the past month. He poured himself another glass and another. He wanted to drink himself into oblivion so that he wouldn't have to deal with the unnecessary niceties of society, which he found extremely ridiculous. 'This is it,' he thought. 'This is my life. I'll work, retire, die.' He winced as the amber liquid burned down his throat. Hours had passed, but they felt like minutes in his head. He felt so absolutely guilty for everything around him even though he didn't show anything of it. For his miserable, lonely life, and for causing everyone around him to have a miserable life. He thought about Cameron for a second. Out of the three ducklings he worked with, he verbally tortured her the most. How much misery had he caused her and why? Certainly a lot for today. God he was lonely. God he was miserable.

"This is it," he said aloud. He thought about how depressing his words sounded outside of his mind.

* * *

He had dozed off at some time, but was awake at the sound of his phone ringing. He stumbled over to his phone and his fumbled fingers searched for his Vicodin in his pocket. He popped several Vicodin into his mouth and desperately answered the phone. He wanted human contact. He needed human contact. "Helwo," he slurred without even noticing.

"House?," Cameron replied.

"Mum?," House asked with no sarcasm heard in his voice.

"U- uh, no." Her voice was shaky. She didn't know if it was because she was crying just moments before this call or if it was because of the call to House itself. She continued, "House, it's Cameron. I just wanted-"

"Oh! Camalon! The perty one." Cameron blushed at the words she was hearing coming out of House's mouth, even though she sensed that he wasn't exactly in his right mind. "Wazzup?"

"Um, nothing. House, are you okay?"

"I'm hunky-dory!," House unnecessarily yelled. "How ya doin'?

"I'm fine, House. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for how I acted at-"

"It's all good, lady. Woosh! I hadda dream 'bout ya just now. You were sleeping right here." House patted the spot next to him on the sofa as if Cameron was able to see him. "Yer head restin' on my ugly, crippled thigh."

"Really? Well-"

"Man, did that hurt! Did you know that the human head weighs approximately eight pounds?!"

Cameron sighed. She wouldn't get the apology in his head if he was like this. Like he would even remember their conversation. "Why yes, House, yes I did."

"And did…you…know…that…"

"House?"

Silence.

"House? Greg?"

Nothing.

She quickly hung up, got her car keys, and drove towards House's home. He probably overdosed on Vicodin, or something worse. He was probably drinking. Vicodin and scotch were never a good combination. Or maybe he was just drunk. She had noticed he seemed to be a little depressed lately. Anti-depressants? Maybe he had an allergic reaction to whatever he was taking? Or maybe the anti-depressants had a bad reaction with his Vicodin. Was he even taking anti-depressants? Her thoughts were interrupted by someone's horn. Had she just passed a red light? God. She had to focus on the road.

She arrived at his door. She knocked. "House! House! Open the damn door!" She held the door knob and looked down at it. "Don't be locked," she whispered in hope. She turned it and the door opened.

She rushed into the silent room. She didn't see him anywhere. She walked deeper into the room and found him hidden behind his couch, face buried in a puddle of spilled scotch and scattered Vicodin. "Oh, god." She ran over to the unconscious man on the floor. She patted him on his cheek to try to wake him. "House. Greg. Wake up. Wake up!" She slapped him as hard as she could as her last hope. "Greg!"

"Ouchies. Geez Louise. That hurt."

"Oh."

She let out a small, inaudible giggle as she saw a red hand print form on her boss's face. She helped him walk to sit on the couch. She almost dropped him when he started holding desperately onto her shirt and hair, struggling to keep his balance. Cameron quickly breathed in his sweet, sweet scent. Even a drunk House smelled extremely sexy. Cameron placed him on his couch where they both sat down rather closely to one another. She felt his hand, which was clinging to her blouse, accidentally find its way under Cameron's shirt, resting on her back.

"So- sor- sorry," Cameron finally apologized for the slap and for almost dropping him.

He noticed how muffled up and exhausted she looked. "Wow. You look like crap! Who died?," he shouted. There was an extremely long and awkward pause. At that, House realized what he was saying and snapped as closely as he could back to reality.

"Shit. Cameron," he went back to his normal tone, nodding his head, looking down, and mentally punched himself in the face. She didn't answer. Tears had begun to fall upon her face. He just stared glossy-eyed at her, not knowing what to say.

She took a deep breath. "House. I just wanted to…" She thought for a moment. What was the point of apologizing. He wouldn't remember a thing come morning. He probably had no idea what was happening at that very moment. She smiled disappointingly at her foolish self and let out a sigh.

House rolled his eyes at the sight of the beautiful mess in front of him. "Don't apologize," House said seriously.

Cameron quickly looked at House. They had locked eyes for what had seemed to be eternity until he looked down. His heart began to race. Why was he getting so nervous? 'I have to quit drinking,' he thought to himself.

He continued, "I was a jerk. I was…me. Cameron, I…I like you. I do. You were right with your stupid Freudian theories. You were always right."

Was this the alcohol talking? Admitting someone else was right surely was not him. Admitting he liked someone was not him.

"I like you," he said slowly. If it was really him talking he could just use the alcohol as an excuse. It felt pretty damn good saying those words to her, but he was too cowardice to admit that under normal circumstances.

"Oh, House…" Cameron smiled and looked at House. They matched their desperate gazes and locked eyes.

She quickly frowned at a thought and sighed. "This isn't you, House. I really should go…"

House suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her close to his body and kissed her. Cameron's eyes went wide in shock, but found that her eyes were beginning to feel heavy and fill with lust as she felt House's tongue softly caressing her own. Her hand moved up and down his back slowly as her other hand wrapper around his neck, slender fingers ruffling through his hair. He had both of his arms around her back, holding onto her as if he would never let go. Each tongue tenderly massaged the other. She was able to taste the sweet scotch on her tongue. She didn't want that moment to end. Neither did he. But House gently pulled away, leaving Cameron's mouth parted as she heavily breathed for air with her eyes still closed in wonder. House also gaped for breath. Cameron's forehead drifted forward which tenderly met House's. They were literally breathing each other's air. The hot breath on their necks felt sensational. She wanted more. So much more. And House sensed that.

"House…House…" She whispered.

"You should go," he whispered back.

"But…"

"Please."

Why was he doing this? She had sensed that he didn't really want her to go. She was able to feel that within the kiss. She felt his emotions pour out as if he held them in for years. Was he afraid she was going to hurt him? Or was he afraid he would hurt her in his drunken state?

Her understanding of House and House still wanting her to leave was quite a sad thing. She just simply nodded at his request and left to go home to cry about another event that had happened in her life.

* * *

_My account wouldn't let me upload anything in the past couple of days. It was a shame for a while. Anyhow, I think this may have been a bit out of character for House. I wasn't quite sure how a drunken House would act, so, yeah. I found this chapter's writing very disappointing._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D., or any of its beautiful characters.

Chapter 4.

* * *

The rest of the week, House brainstormed about what to say to Cameron when she returned. It had been an awkward parting that night, and he couldn't leave it at that. His normal self usually would, but he was not his normal self lately. It was driving him mad. From the day she had left his apartment Monday night, to the drive to work on Monday morning of the following week, he had no idea what to expect. This is the first time he was going to see her since she left to attend her father's funeral for the week, and he was definitely not looking forward to it.

He arrived at the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's parking garage. He was about to come up to Cameron's parking space. He hoped it was empty. He hoped he wouldn't have to talk to her. She was probably going to want to talk about what had happened and follow him around all day anyway. He came up to her spot and saw that it was there. He sighed and parked.

* * *

In hopes to avoid Cameron, House signed in and immediately started his clinic duty. Unfortunately, Cameron had witnessed this apocalypse of House and her curiosity just had to report this to Dr. Cuddy.

"Does it hurt anywhere else besides your happy place, mister…?," House asked his idiot for a patient.

"Sims."

"Sims," House repeated.

"Um. Not really?"

"So, just how many hours of porno do you have on your computer?"

"Excuse me?

"What? It's a medical question. A doctor just _must _know these sorta things. Death is something we do _not_ want happening in this hospital," House sarcastically replied, trying to sound serious.

"Um."

Cuddy burst into the exam room expecting to see House sleeping, but he was actually, to her surprise, with a patient. She stared oddly at the two people in the room while she stood in the doorway.

"Well," Mr. Sims embarrassingly continued, "I might have some several hours of pornographic videos on my computer."

Cuddy looked on wide-eyed in confusion.

House simply smirked at Cuddy and continued with the patient, "And just how many times might have you touched your happy place while watching these pornographic videos, Mr. Sims?."

House turned back to Cuddy with a smug look which caused her to back out of the room. She saw Cameron waiting for her 411 on House's situation.

"He's talking about porn and masturbation with a patient," Cuddy informed Cameron.

"He's actually with a patient?," Cameron asked ignoring the porn and masturbation comments.

"Yes."

Cameron tilted her head and had to see for herself.

"Er. I guess I do touch it down there quite often," the patient answered.

"Ah. I see. And do you use any lubrication, Mr. Sims?," House asked nosily.

"Uhh, is this really necessary, Dr. House?," Mr. Sims asked embarrassingly.

"Hey, man, if you don't wanna die you gotta spill the beans," House smirked.

Cameron came into the exam room as Mr. Sims answered. House felt his heart race in her presence.

"No, I do not use lubrication when I masturbate," Mr. Sims replied.

House watched as Cameron gave the same exact look Cuddy had given five minutes earlier. '_Way cuter on Cameron,' _House thought to himself. He shook his head to rid his thoughts and to proceed with the patient.

House went on, "Ah! I see. Hmm. What we've got here is quite the dilemma, Mr. Sims."

"Oh god. I'm going to die?!"

Cameron rolled her eyes at the patient's idiocy.

"No. You're going to rub away your penis if you continue playing with Mr. Midnight down there so much," House said.

Cameron gave a shocked look at her boss's straight-forward response.

House got up from his seat and headed toward the door.

"Less porn, more lube," House told the patient.

He stopped in the doorway where Cameron was standing and looked down at her.

"Pshh. Men!," House said snarkily rolling his eyes and quickly left for his lunch break to avoid Dr. Cameron.

* * *

House returned from lunch and entered the conference room.

"Differential diagnosis people!" House said, trying to conceal his nervousness of the inevitable personal chat he would soon have with Cameron.

The three inferiors oddly looked at each other in confusion about their boss's statement.

"Err. We don't have any cases," Chase said.

"Yeah, since Cameron was out the past week, we didn't have anyone looking for cases that would've sufficed your interest needs," Foreman added playing with his pen.

"The one day I'm actually looking forward to work on some case, _you've_ got nothing for me." House extended his cane and sharply poked Cameron in the shoulder. He may have always treated her like garbage, but it was always an act to cover up his true feelings because showing them was not a _House_ thing to do.

"Sorry for causing you to work oh-so-hard, House," Cameron replied a bit more snarkily than usual.

House sensed she was still affected by the happenings of last Monday.

"Hmm," House hummed. "Okay then. Continue playing with your pens, your crosswords, yourselves, and don't bother me."

He hobbled into his office leaving the ducklings sitting their watching him exit the conference. Foreman and Chase both shrugged and continued doing nothing. Cameron, however, felt like she couldn't just sit there while people were dying without their help. Doing nothing was not a _Cameron_ thing to do. Before she went to work, she told herself to try to avoid House today. She couldn't stand to see or talk to him, but she had to put him in his place.

He sat down at his desk and took out his iPod from his drawer. He inserted the earphones in his ears and blasted his music as Cameron entered his office. She didn't step any deeper into the room than by the door, keeping a fair distance apart from him.

"House! People are dying and you don't care?!," Cameron shouted over the monotone music which was audible from her distance.

"Huh?! People are lying about their private hair!?," House shouted back.

Cameron's shoulders slumped down and she sighed.

"House," Cameron said seriously.

House read her lips and saw her frustration. He removed his earphones and slowly walked up to Cameron. Cameron watched what he was doing. She watched every single slow step dreadfully, holding her breath, trying not to break. What the hell was he doing? He had finally reached her and stopped right in front of her. Cameron immediately straightened her slouched shoulders as House stared at her silently.

Cameron was the first to speak. "We need a case," Cameron nearly whispered, voice shaky. "I can look through-"

She stopped as she saw House leaning forward towards her lips. She let out a little gasp of air and held her breath. House neared her lips, but kept leaning forward until he was breathing down her neck and into her ear. Cameron swallowed a dry knot in her throat.

"You're creeping me out," she said in a high-pitched whisper.

House smirked allowing his whiskers to touch Cameron's soft, rosy cheek, and did not say a word. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity for Cameron. Has he gone insane?

Cameron remembered what she came into his office for. In attempts to get herself out of the knee-melting situation her crush had put her in, she tried to continue. "I, uhh, can look through your mail for any cases…"

At that moment House inhaled audibly to smell Cameron's coconut and lavender scent and exhaled onto her pale skin. Cameron closed her eyes as House's hot breath warmed her neck.

House lips lightly brushed against Cameron's ear as he softly spoke, "I have to pee."

Cameron was still caught up in the moment. After realizing the non-romantic words she wasn't exactly hoping for, which she always found charming, that House just had said, she opened her eyes. She saw him through the glass walls of his office walking in the hallway. She smiled as she caught a light, but rare smile from her boss.

If toying with Cameron's feelings was the only way to avoid having a personal conversation with her, then be it. He smiled. He didn't know if it was the avoidance of an annoying chat that got him to smile, or the fact that he knew he would have to do something like this again many times in the near future. He did like coconut and lavender after all very, very much.


	5. Chapter 5

_The reviews are greatly appreciated. So, thank you very much. Just a reminder, I have no idea where this story is going. All I know is that House and Cameron will end up together. I honestly couldn't see it any other way if they didn't. I'm pretty much just winging it, ya know? If you're not down with my impromptu style then I don't blame you I guess. I may lose what little readers I have, but you all will be missed, I guess? I dig it either way, man._

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D. or any of its fergalicious characters.

Chapter 5.

* * *

Monday night and nothing to do. He poured himself another glass of scotch and sat down on his couch staring at the black television screen. He was exhausted. Who knew avoiding a woman half your age could be so much trouble. Gosh, Cameron can be such a pain sometimes. Ugh, he was thinking about her again. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He smelled scotch and cigars and…coconut and lavender? He immediately shot open his eyes. He looked around but did not spot the gorgeous brunette anywhere. 

"I have _got _to resolve this," House sighed.

He needed to talk to her and work this out before that woman drives him insane. He got out his cell phone and typed in Cameron's number, but he hadn't pressed send. He stared at the phone for a moment and realized that he had no clue what to say to her. Sorry about your dad? Sorry about leading you on? Sorry about kissing you? Sorry…

'Sorry' was all he was able to think of. Gosh, was he really feeling _that _guilty? He already apologized to her before and he felt that one apology per person was more than enough coming from him. He just wouldn't be able to make those words come out of his mouth. He needed another way. He flipped his phone closed, grabbed his things, and quickly got on his motorcycle.

* * *

Before he knew it, House was in front of Cameron's apartment door exhausted. He had to climb many stairs in order to reach her home. House was dripping wet and was carrying a giant teddy bear. 

He had gone to the local mall to pick up the teddy bear. The bear was safely strapped down to the rear seat of his motorcycle. Unfortunately, it had started to rain while he was on his way to Cameron's apartment.

House raised his cane to knock on Cameron's door, but stopped a hair short from it. He felt ridiculous that he was going to give someone a completely soaked teddy bear. What was he doing? There he was, unable to decide what to do, right outside Cameron's home. House had an idea.

He suddenly started to grope through all of his pockets in search for a pen and a piece of paper. All he had found was white-out and some light orange post-its. With these, he painted something down sloppily on a post-it note and stuck it on the bear's nose. He raised his cane once more to knock on Cameron's door. Once he knocked three times, he immediately rushed towards the exit of the building. He reached the stairs and rolled his eyes. He had forgotten about the several stairs. Why couldn't they just install an elevator for Christ's sake. He popped some Vicodin in his mouth and began going down the stairs a step at a time. He was forced to take his time, for his leg just wouldn't allow him to go any quicker than he was now.

Cameron was still mourning her father's death. The pouring rain just made her feel even more depressed. The puffy-eyed Cameron heard three knocks at her door. She jumped up in surprise and rubbed away any obvious tears to be seen as she made her way to the door. She looked up and opened the door. She didn't see anyone. She closed the door. Wait a second. Was that just a giant… She opened the door again and looked down. She saw a huge teddy bear. She tilted her head. She saw a post-it note and took it off the bear's nose to read the strange, white letters:

'_Sorry the bear's all wet. I just needed to pee real bad. You know how it is. -Greg House'_

Cameron smiled wide for the first time since her father died, for she knew that House didn't really urinate on the bear. She knew House always covers everything up with some lame joke. She knew House. She grabbed the bear and noticed it was freshly wet. She then pressed her thumb hard on the white letters of the note which left white smudges on her finger. She quickly walked into her apartment and looked out her window and saw House just exiting the building and heading towards his motorcycle which was across the street. She hurried towards her door.

House's leg was aching. He just got out of the building and was about to cross the street until he heard someone call him.

"House!"

House turned around. He saw Cameron running towards him. Her hair was wet and looked as if it clung to her for dear life. She had still worn her skirt and blouse from work that day, which were completely drenched and rumpled by now. She looked beautiful even when she was a mess. Once Cameron reached him she wrapped her arms around House's neck and pulled him down for a deep kiss. Their bodies fit perfectly against each other as they held this romantic kiss in the rain. Hands roamed and tongues wrestled. The kiss was one of desperation. One of neediness. Both House and Cameron exposed their true selves within this kiss and there was no turning back from here, but neither of them seemed to mind. They purposely made themselves vulnerable to the other. They needed that comfort. House finished the kiss and pulled away.

"What was that for?," House tried to sound mean, but Cameron saw right through him and smiled. House surprisingly, even to himself, smiled back.

"Thanks. For the bear and all…" Cameron trailed off.

"Yeah. No problem."

Cameron simply nodded. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

House spoke. "So, it's raining out and we're still standing here."

"Oh," Cameron realized, "Gosh, you can't ride that thing in this weather."

Cameron gestured towards House's motorcycle.

"Yeah."

"Coffee?," Cameron invited.

House nodded at her request.

They had climbed the stairs in silence. Cameron had helped the cripple up the dreaded staircases one step at a time. House was surprised that she didn't just let him struggle and fall after all the crap he had put her through. He was grateful for her help and also grateful for the time wasted climbing the stairs, for it gave him time to think of what to do once they reached her apartment. He had never easily folded like this before, but he had liked the feeling

Cameron unlocked her a apartment door and stepped aside to allow House through.

"Look, House, we need to talk," Cameron said as she walked through her door.

Cameron continued as she entered her home and closed the door behind her, not facing House, "I have no clue what…"

House had suddenly turned Cameron around and tenderly pushed her back against the door. House dropped his cane. He leaned toward her lips, but once again paused and leaned toward her ear instead.

"You have no clue what?, Dr. Cameron?," House whispered tenderly into her ear.

"I have no clue what to…," Cameron paused as House started kissing her neck sensually.

Cameron's arms unintentionally wrapped themselves around House's neck with her fingers in his moist hair. It was as if some force placed them perfectly around him. House's lips were softer than Cameron had imagined. Cameron slowly closed her eyes. Each kiss left a light, but memorable mark on her body. She let out small moan and she felt House smile on her neck.

"You like that, eh?," House teased.

Cameron brought her hands to his face and pulled him down for a kiss, a long, rare, passionate kiss that was hoped to last forever. House's hands sneaked themselves around Cameron and under her shirt onto the small of her back. Chills were sent down her spine as his hands roamed over her skin. He ran his tongue along Cameron's lips yearning for the entrance which she had allowed him. He pulled her as close as possible to his body. Cameron felt the dampness of his clothes. She ran her hands up his chest until she reached his shoulders, pushing his wet leather jacket off his strong arms. He began to unbutton her blouse as she undid his pants. Clothing was shed until they had absolutely nothing on. House had pushed Cameron against the door, forcing her head up and deepening the kiss. Cameron had lost the battle between tongues when House swiftly rolled his tongue inside her, along the roof of her mouth. She let out gasp of defeat which drove House crazy and got him hard at the second.

He needed her now. House shifted all of his weight onto his good leg, took hold of Cameron's legs lifting her, and forced her against the door for support, holding her in place. He entered her and was amazed at the sensations of how perfect she had fit around him. He dug his head into her breasts with each thrust.

"Mmm, House."

He looked up at Cameron's reddening face. He kissed her and felt her moan within his mouth. House was so turned on. This caused him to thrust into her faster, deeper. He was dangerously close, but had to hold back until she came. He was sweating with the battle, making their already moist bodies glide effortlessly against the other.

"Oh, Cameron," House groaned.

Her back slid up and down against the door gracefully, breasts doing the same motion against their bodies. House felt Cameron contract around him, sensing she was extremely close. Cameron dug her nails into House's back and dug her face into House's neck in attempts to stifle her moans, but failed.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Ah! House!"

"Oh god. Unh!"

House released whatever energy he had held in as they had both climaxed simultaneously. The sensations they felt were remarkable. Cameron's back arched gracefully as House's thrusts slowed and deepened to take in the moment of being fulfilled.

Faces dug into the other's body as they suddenly felt spent. House lifted Cameron off him. She immediately collapsed and slid down the door to sit on the ground. House did the same with the adjoining wall. They were both heavily panting on the floor.

"Wow," House gaped.

"Yeah. Wow," Cameron agreed.

"I really didn't know I could still do it on the wall, ya know."

Cameron chuckled, "Then I guess you were extremely well rested."

"Ha."

In a comfortable silence, they sat there taking in the best moment they had ever had. It was a shame that neither of them would probably ever admit that, but it was certainly true. Cameron noticed House's eyelids beginning to look heavy with sleep and also noted it was still raining out. Cameron broke the silence.

"Sleepy time?," Cameron asked.

He nodded.

"Sleepy time," he repeated.

House grabbed his cane on the floor as Cameron helped him to stand up. House draped his arm around Cameron's shoulders. As they walked down the dark hallway, House spoke.

"You know, I think I really should keep buying you wet teddy bears with crappy notes on them."

Cameron giggled.

They entered dark room and collapsed onto the bed, both immediately falling into a deep, deep slumber.

* * *

_Yeah. Just wondering if I should up the rating on this thing. Not too sure. So, you guys tell me._


	6. Chapter 6

_I don't thank people that often, but I really did feel good reading those reviews. So once again, a rare thank you to all of you. By the way, the majority of the reviews from the previous chapter has won me over to kick the rating up a notch. Sorry, man, but I do believe this is a democracy._

Chapter 6.

* * *

Sunlight crept into the room through a small opening from the drawn blinds of Cameron's apartment. The golden ray of light searched for House's closed eyes in a dire attempt to wake him from his slumber, for he was late for work.

He had sensed the light pale red under his eyelids. He felt the warmth the rays brought to his body. He felt an extra source of warmth coming from the weight on his chest. Suddenly lavender and coconut quickly invaded his nostrils. House's eyes fluttered open to find his female colleague's head resting on his chest. One arm followed the naked curve of her back while the other was behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, marveling at the wonderful feeling of comfort and happiness that had overcome his body at that moment. He hadn't felt this way in years. It was unfamiliar. It was strange. It was good.

He held Cameron tightly against his body. Cameron snuggled closer as she dug her head into House's chest, searching for a comfortable spot. She realizes what she was doing and slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed them, making sure she wasn't dreaming. It was too good to be true.

"Good morning," House greeted.

"Morning," Cameron smiled lightly, still sleep-disoriented.

Cameron glanced at her alarm clock.

"Whoa! Not morning!," Cameron alarmed and jumped to sit upright.

"Huh? What are you talking about?," House questioned.

"House, it's fucking noon!"

House sat up, back against the headboard.

"I've come in to work this late before. It's no biggie," House shrugged.

"Yes, it is a biggie," Cameron disagreed.

"Do you wish to elaborate on your theory?"

Cameron sighed.

"I'm always early, House. I've never come in this late before. And you hardly come in at this time. If we both show up at work late, then people might get suspicious that something is happening between us."

"Are you ashamed to be seen with a cripple?"

"No, no, it's not like that at all."

"Then who cares if we show up together."

Cameron huffed in frustration, "Can we at least come up with some reasonable explanation of our arrival?"

House rolled his eyes, for he thought Cameron was being over-paranoid.

"Okay. How about… We walk in, let everyone stare at us for a couple of seconds, then when they ask us why we're late and why we're coming in together, we can just say we had steamy, rough, hot sex in your apartment and that you forgot to set your alarm clock because the only thing on your mind last night was me. You see, it's the truth, it's reasonable, and it's evasive. We don't have to deal with their questions, and their virgin ears won't have to bleed from knowing that something actually happened. It's a win-win situation," House reasoned.

Cameron's jaw dropped slightly sometime during House's speech. She was staring at him dumbly. She rattled her head to rid herself of her reverie.

"Right, right. Whatever," Cameron said.

"Alrighty! Maybe we should get ready to go. We wouldn't want to be any later than we already are. Cuddy's going to have one hell of a cow," House smirked.

"Oh boy. Can't wait," Cameron said unenthusiastically.

Cameron swung her legs from under the covers and got up to stretch and look out her window. She was still naked, though it seemed as if she didn't mind at all. Once she had gotten up, House ogled at her up and down a million times as if she were some sort of glowing goddess. He watched as the evening sun caught every single unique curve of her beautiful body.

Cameron sensed his eyes on her. She glanced at House over her shoulder.

"Whadya think you're lookin' at?," Cameron asked flirtatiously, raising an eyebrow.

House immediately picked his jaw up from the ground and wiped the drool off his face.

"Obviously that ass of yours that is obviously a hundred times better than Cuddy's will ever be," House quickly covered. "Can you say 'A-OOO-GA!'"

Cameron chuckled. She walked out of the room, giving her hips an exaggerated tweak with every step.

House smiled. He laid back down and folded his arms under his head as he stared happily at the white ceiling.

* * *

House was forced to ride with Cameron, for his motorcycle was still soaked from being left out the previous night. He wasn't exactly _forced_ anyway. He wouldn't have called it that. He kind of wished to ride with her. He enjoyed her company, and she enjoyed his. It was an unspoken symbiotic relationship.

There was some casual conversation during the car ride to the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. House was very surprised that he was effortlessly and carelessly participating in a conversation that did not involve anyone with a fatal, life-threatening disease. It was unfamiliar. It was strange. It was good.

"Favorite genre of music," Cameron asked.

"Everything from Bach to the Black Eyed Peas. Wait. Alphabetically, that would kinda be a short list."

Cameron giggled. "Favorite non-alcoholic drink."

"Wat to the erzzle, as my pal Snoop would say."

House smiled as Cameron laughed. Everything she did looked so natural. Absolutely natural. The way she slept, the way she breathed, the way she blinked, ate, and smiled.

An epiphany struck House. House felt as if it was all too good to be true. He was afraid it would all come crashing down soon. He was going to enjoy the hell out of whatever this was as long as possible.

* * *

They arrived at the hospital. They managed to avoid the likes of the evil Dean of Medicine. Unfortunately they weren't able to avoid all the nurses at the nurse's station. Rumors were going to start spreading fast about their mysterious late arrival together and Cuddy was bound to find out.

House and Cameron quickly arrived at the conference room at a quarter to one. When they arrived, they were immediately met with the confused faces of Dr. Chase, Dr. Foreman, and Dr. Wilson.

"Well, well, well. What have we got here?," Chase questioned.

Cameron bit her bottom lip in nervousness. House glanced at Cameron and sensed this nervousness.

"Looks like we got a Jew, an Aussie, and a black guy," House replied.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry. What Dr. Chase meant to ask was 'Why are you two extremely late together?'"

Cameron's eyes widened at the question, for specific questions required specific answers.

"O-oh, well," Cameron stuttered, "we-"

"We," House cut in, "had steamy, rough, hot sex at her apartment and she forgot to set her alarm clock because the only thing on her mind last night was me. Pshh, women."

House rolled his eyes. The other three doctors were taken aback, as usual. Cameron stared at House in complete shock. She wasn't expecting him to actually have that as his explanation for their lateness. House simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway," House continued, "Who wants to get some lunch? I'm famished!"

"But, you just got here," Foreman stated.

"Yes, but I just got here _late_. You see, there's a _huge_ difference. Any cases yet?"

"Nope," Chase answered.

"Hmm," House looked over at Cameron whose eyes had drifted slightly towards the floor as her mouth was ajar. "Dr. Cameron!"

Cameron shook herself from her reverie and turned to her boss.

"Go find a case," House instructed Cameron. "Foreman, go steal some cars in the hood. Chase, go be me at the clinic. And Wilson, go to the cafeteria with me so you can buy me lunch. Apparently Dr. Cameron wasn't as filling last night as she was yummy."

House gave Cameron an extremely exaggerated wink, earning chuckles from the fellow doctors. Chase and Foreman eventually shrugged off all the comments made by House.

House was House.

House made his way to the cafeteria, dragging a mighty curious Wilson along with him. The someone who certainly knew House was certainly Dr. Wilson. And he didn't believe House was lying at all.


	7. Chapter 7

_Dude, I'm getting so lazy, it's not even funny. Anyway, I don't know if any of you guys have noticed, but I'm just totally trying to avoid the team having a case. I know little about medicine and am way too lazy to look up some stuff. Heck, if I was reading, I'd rather read about the actual characters, and not some weirdo sciencie shit where I have no clue what the fuck is going on. I'm just assuming you guys feel slightly the same way._

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D. or any of its shmecksy characters.

Chapter 7.

* * *

House rudely dragged Wilson down to the hospital's cafeteria. Wilson, of course, was forced to treat House for his lunch. House ordered his usual Reuben while Wilson just ordered a coffee. They sat down at a table where House immediately started to gobble down his sandwich.

"Ack!," House screamed.

Wilson quickly looked at House.

"Pickles," House spat.

Wilson simply shrugged his shoulders and picked at his nails.

There was an unusually strange silence between the two friends while House ate his food. House was curious as to why Wilson wasn't nagging him about his late arrival with Cameron today at all. Was he waiting for him to finish eating? Maybe he was waiting for him to start off the conversation. House was not going to give in to this silent torture.

House finally finished and Wilson still had not looked up from his nails. House couldn't take it anymore.

"Like, O.M.G.! We should like totally both go get manicures and talk about our feelings!," House said in a high-pitched girly voice.

Wilson just looked at him with an unreadable expression and continued on with his nails. House's eyes narrowed in thought and confusion.

"Hmm," House hummed. "Why haven't you blessed me with your mouth of wisdom yet? Or do you not swing that way?"

Wilson looked up at his best friend with a face that showed extreme seriousness and concern. House straightened his posture a bit at Wilson's expression.

"What's up, Jimmy?" There was no trace of sarcasm in House's voice.

Wilson sighed, "Someone's eventually going to get hurt, House."

House took in his best friend's words and sensed the great amount of concern in it. House looked down at his empty Styrofoam tray and fingered its edges lightly. House nodded.

"So I take it you two slept together last night?," Wilson asked.

House nodded again in silence. He hated these serious conversations with a passion.

"Is it just a fling, House? Or is this a serious thing? Because either way, someone's going to get hurt. If it's a fling, Cameron, being the emotional stuffed animal that she is, would be extremely offended. And if it's serious, then well…," Wilson trailed off.

"She isn't Stacey."

"True, but are you sure you're willing to open yourself up to someone again? Intentionally make yourself vulnerable to someone?"

"Do you not want me to be happy?," House replied snarkily.

Wilson rubbed his hands over face in frustration. "I'm just making sure that you really want this. Just trying to help you get yourself out of something you're not sure of before anything gets too serious."

"Thanks, but I think my conscience is working. I don't need a backup."

Wilson smiled. Maybe House really did want this. Whatever 'this' was.

"Well in that case, I'm happy for you. Hopefully Cameron's fluffiness will rub off on you."

House grabbed Wilson's coffee from his hand just before he was about to take a sip from it, and took large gulps of it.

Wilson sighed, "So… Was she any good?"

House slammed Wilson's now-empty coffee cup onto the table. House grinned devilishly, got up, and walked away.

"I guess that's a 'yes'!," Wilson yelled after House.

Wilson smiled to himself as he watched his friend limp off with a little extra jump in his step.

* * *

House closed his eyes in relaxation as he urinated in the little boys' room. Who knew taking a leak was so relaxing. Being the only one in the bathroom was a plus. The only person he didn't mind being in the same bathroom with was Wilson. House thought that Wilson had earned that much of a privilege for sticking by him for all these years.

The bathroom door flew open as Cuddy angrily came in. House mumbled something under his breath inaudibly and opened his eyes.

"House!," Cuddy yelled.

"Geez, woman. I'm right here. No need to scream, ya know."

"Why the hell were you extremely late today?," she asked.

House zipped up his jeans and walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

"I do believe I already had this conversation some time earlier today."

"Not with me you didn't. And did you know you are very behind on your clinic hours?," Cuddy asked ill-tempered.

"No, I did not. I also did not know that you were a man, being in the men's bathroom and all. I've always suspected," House replied.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Clinic. Now."

"But, Mom!"

Cuddy walked out of the restroom without another word. House actually felt like he wanted to go to the clinic today. He felt like he needed to avoid Cameron, because being seen with her too many times may start rumors and ruin his reputation. He might go from sarcastic bad ass to lovey dovey softie.

* * *

Dr. Cameron decided to get back on track with her clinic hours after her absence last week. She couldn't just continue doing House's paperwork or help out at the Immunology Department. She was _way_ behind on her hours anyway. She was surprised that Cuddy hasn't badgered her about it yet. Maybe she was cutting her some slack, pitying her. Cameron hated being pitied upon, but after her frustration and exhaustion from her father's death, she felt as if she needed some kind of break.

"Dr. Cameron checking in," Cameron told the nurse at the nurse's station.

"Thank god. The clinic's been incredibly busy today," the nurse said in relief as she handed Cameron a patient file with a wide smile.

Cameron wasn't sure if the nurse was smiling like that because she had heard of rumors of her and House arriving late together, or because of more sympathy for her father's death.

She was able to see the pity hidden in the nurse's expression. She quickly realized that the whole hospital probably already knew about her father. She simply smiled lightly in response.

Cameron looked around at the waiting room. There were several people standing, and those who were lucky enough to get a seat were sitting shoulder to shoulder with other awaiting patients. She turned around towards the waiting room, but stopped when the nurse called after her.

"Dr. Cameron! I'm afraid all the exam rooms aren't vacant at the moment, but Exam Room 2 should be empty quite soon. The patient only wanted a simple check-up and they've been in there for quite some time," the nurse explained.

"Oh, I'll go check up on them and see how much longer it'll be," Cameron kindly responded.

The nurse nodded.

Cameron walked to the room. She stuck her head in the door, only to find a patient putting his shirt back on from the check-up.

"Hi there. Sorry to interrupt, but are you being helped by any doctors?," Cameron asked politely.

"Why, yes. I believe he is." House came from behind the door. House was completely out of Cameron's line of vision.

"Jesus Christ!," Cameron jumped into the room in shock.

"Present," House said while raising his hand.

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"Now," House faced the patient, "I suspect you have some breathing problems, so here are some yummy pills for your tummy to enjoy."

House wrote out the prescription and handed it to the man who closed the door behind him as he made his way to the pharmacy.

"Gosh, I don't even get a 'thank you'. People nowadays!," House joked.

Cameron shrugged her shoulders.

"So, I'm guessing that the file you're holding is an extremely interesting and outrageously difficult case?," House asked in hope.

"Nope. Sorry."

"Hmm. Then that file must be yours. Need a physical Dr. Cameron? I'd be honored to actually do my job for once."

Cameron forced a smile. House had noticed that this smile had been forced and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Not interested, huh?," House asked.

Cameron shook her head in the negative.

"Weird. You _so_ would have been into that kind of thing last night," House stated nosily, trying to figure out what was up with Cameron.

Cameron sighed. She looked House in the eyes.

"You've been avoiding me," Cameron stated.

"Oh."

House shifted a bit and went to sit on a nearby stool. There was no way he could take this conversation while standing.

House continued, "Well, um, you know. Rumors can travel quite quickly in this hospital."

Cameron bit her lip. "Are you saying you're afraid of being seen with me?"

House thought about her question for a moment. Was he really afraid of being seen with her? Or was it his reputation that he was just trying to maintain? God, he felt like such a selfish bastard right now. If people thought that he went soft, he would be ruined. No one would listen to him or take him seriously.

"No. Nothing like that," House finally responded.

"Then what is it?," Cameron asked impatiently.

House just gazed at the floor, unable to think of a response that wouldn't offend Cameron and make him seem like the bad guy. He couldn't think of anything. Cameron towered over House for once. She looked down at him expecting some answer. When none came, she shook her head in disappointment and went for the door. However, as her hand grasped the door knob, House placed his hand on hers, stopping her in her tracks.

"Look, I can't talk about it here. Can you just come by tonight?," House asked with a serious expression.

Cameron stared at House's hand. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to see him anymore.

"Please?," House begged.

Cameron thought more about the situation. She finally had something, whatever something was, with House and she couldn't just let that go.

"Fine."

Cameron opened the door and walked out of the exam room.

House sighed in the empty room. He never begged for anyone. He had always picked on Cameron and treated her like garbage, but he did like her. Actually he liked her a lot. He couldn't just let her go like that.


	8. Chapter 8

_Was anyone else extremely disappointed about that season finale, or is it just me?_

Disclaimer - I do not own House M.D. or any of its characters.

Chapter 8.

* * *

Wilson watched Cameron stomp to her car alone from his office window. He was curious why House wasn't with her. He watched her throw the car into reverse and drive out of the parking lot. At that exact moment, House came barging into Wilson's office.

"Have you ever heard of knocking on doors?"

"I've heard of knocking up women. I mean, they kind of sound the same…," House trailed off.

Wilson chuckled.

"You mind giving me a lift?," House asked.

Wilson's brow furrowed. "What happened to Cameron?"

House shrugged, "She left."

"Okay. What did you do that made her leave?"

"Why is it that every time a situation looks bad you immediately blame me?," House acted hurt.

"Well, _did _you do something that made her leave?"

"Well, I might have been avoiding her just a tad bit lately," House gestured a small space between his thumb and index finger.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "And why is this?"

"I have quite the reputation to keep. Who would _not_ want to be a cruel, cynical cripple?"

Wilson shook his head, "_This_ is why I blame you!"

"Because I'm a cruel, cynical cripple?"

"No! Because you care more about yourself than you care about Cameron. For Christ's sake, House! You have a woman that any other guy on this planet would die for, and all you care about is yourself!," Wilson was yelling at the top of his lungs.

House had his tail between his legs, looking down at the ground in guilt. He couldn't face Wilson. He couldn't face the truth. Was he really as selfish as everyone always took his to be? He was thinking about her all the time, and yet he was still thinking of himself before her. He liked her so much. Maybe he didn't just like her. Maybe he… He couldn't even say _that_ word in his head. It's not it wasn't true. He just didn't feel like he deserved such a thing like that. But he did indeed like her. Wouldn't that be enough? Maybe he needed to change. Okay, he definitely needed to change. He was always afraid of change, but he would. Only a little. Only for her.

"Are you okay?," Wilson asked after he noticed House had zoned out.

"Uh, yeah," House answered lightly.

"You still need that ride?

"I guess. Not to my house though," House half-whispered, half of his mind still thinking about Cameron.

"Aw, did I scare the big, mean House?," Wilson joked.

House chuckled, "Hah. No. I did."

* * *

Cameron sat on her cream colored couch with green complimentary pillows. Her glasses were perfectly perched on the tip of her nose. There, she was clenching a book, a carton of ice cream, and a familiar giant teddy bear. Reading and eating were her usual escapes from her head.

Was Cameron really such an annoyance that House had to avoid her? House was House. He was a self-centered bastard. He probably just wanted to keep that badass ego of his. And she completely understood that. There was nothing she could do. She didn't want to change him, but of course she wouldn't mind change.

She did not bother to go to House's apartment that night. She did not bother to call. …Call? Why would she even call? She was thinking about him as if they were in some kind of relationship or something. Would _extremely_ _great_ sex account as the start of a relationship? If it does, then they've only unofficially been together not even a week. But he was so good. Cameron wouldn't have expected him to be so… athletic… considering he has a bad leg.

She absolutely loved the stubble on his chin, aggressively scratching her cheek. And his lips. Good _lord._ Those warm lips of his softly brushing against hers. His usual aggressive behavior was just a mask covering up some gentle soul that desperately wanted human contact. She was able to feel that. She was grateful at the fact that he made himself vulnerable to her. Bare. He yearned for contact. He just needed to find a suitable person willing enough to let him in.

She let him in. Definitely.

Cameron loudly slammed the book shut, for it wasn't doing its job. She took off her glasses and stared at the melted ice cream in its carton. She put the book and the carton on the coffee table and sighed. The only thing she had left was that giant, cuddly teddy bear. It was so cute. He had given that to her. Sure, it was somewhat cliché, but she should probably be flattered by the fact that he had actually gotten her something at all. It was a sweet thing for him to do.

* * *

House had finally arrived outside Cameron's apartment door. Flights of stairs had him panting foolishly in the dark hallway, also feeling quite ridiculous for holding a small assortment of flowers. What the hell possessed him to purchase a lovely thing like flowers? He had never done such a thing like this before. Not even with Stacy. If he had bought Stacy flowers, he wasn't even sure if Stacy would appreciate it or laugh in his face and take it as some sort of joke. Flowers were a bit out of character. His relationship with Stacy was mostly wild nights out accompanied by sex. Sure, he enjoyed it, but he always felt as if something was missing. Sex with Stacy was great, but just that one night with Cameron felt so much better. It felt alive.

House had the feeling that Cameron wouldn't go to his place after he had asked her to. He was right, of course. He saw the warm glow of light that appeared on his feet from just below the door. She's mad at him. And he has to fix it. He has to fix himself. He was in fact avoiding her. He was avoiding any damage to his ego and his reputation.

This isn't just another puzzle for House. Yes, he wants to resolve this, but he wants to take the time to do it right. He would change for her. He knew that she really didn't like him just to nurse him back to health. She didn't want to change him, but change was just an effect she had on people. Who knew a person was capable of changing someone in such a short period of time?

House knew Cameron was different. He knew she was special. He knocked on the door.

* * *

Cameron was in a deep reverie, staring blindly at the French-patterned carpet. She was sitting on her sofa, Indian style, with the teddy bear on her lap, and tucked protectively between her crossed arms and under her chin.

There was a sudden vigorous knocking on the door. Cameron did not jump, nor did she break her gaze with the neat designs on her floor. She knew it was him at her door. She knew he wanted to see her. But part of her wanted to avoid him, like he had done to her.

"Cameron! I know you're in there! I can hear your yearning for me!," House yelled. He thought maybe a joke would lighten her mood a bit.

Cameron rolled her eyes. The corner of her lips twitched upwards. She didn't want to smile. She didn't want to give in to House like she always had.

"Allison..." House had said her first name softly as if he had said it everyday for the past three years. "Open up… Please?"

That 'please' at the end of House's request had Cameron make an 'aww' expression on her face. She couldn't take it. She was a fool to give in to House, but who wouldn't? That absolutely adorable man outside her apartment was technically begging for her to let him in. And only a fool would not open that door.

She went to the door and opened it only to the point where the chain lock would allow. House immediately stuck his face in the ajar door. His eyes were so big and blue. Were they watery?

"So," House began, "are you going to let me in, or are we going to stay here until I have the edge of the door imprinted on my face?"

Cameron suddenly shut the door. House was lucky enough to still have his nose attached to his head. His mouth was open in shock. His blue eyes were even bigger than before. Cameron wouldn't ever slam a door on anyone. Was she _that_ mad? House felt his eyes start tear up. He rubbed at his eyes vigorously. He stopped when he heard rattling on the other side of the door.

Cameron reopened the door. This time it was fully opened. She looked at House's expression and smiled.

"Are you crying?," Cameron asked.

"Um, no, just…dirt. Dirt. It got into my eye somehow…"

"Yuh huh… Sure."

House leaned against the hallway wall, trying to regain his cool, collected attitude. "What, you don't believe me?"

"Well, there was this one guy who always told me that everybody lies..."

"Would this guy happen to be extremely good looking?"

"Pshh. Yeah right. Ugliest bastard I know," Cameron joked.

House smiled, eyes still a bit watery. Cameron reached up and caressed his cheek. She ran her thumb lightly just below House's eye and felt a liquid touch her thumb's tip. Cameron retreated her hand and rubbed the liquid that found it's way to her skin.

"I'm telling you. It's, it's the dirt," House tried.

Cameron smiled. "It's okay. Your secret's safe with me."

Cameron stepped aside and House slowly limped into the apartment. They both were wondering how either of them felt happy after that little fight they had earlier. Maybe it was just the other's presence that was enough to sooth any negative tensions in the atmosphere. If that is the case, fights would be a breeze for them.


	9. Chapter 9

_I have been on vacation lately, and still am. I sneaked this chapter in at an old friend's house, so just expect to have more late chapters done._

_My bad._

Disclaimer - Philly Cheese Steak.

Chapter 9.

* * *

House slowly entered the small, but cozy apartment of his young duckling. He looked around, taking in all the non-Cameron things that he wouldn't expect her to have. He didn't look around much last time her was here. Probably because he immediately fucked her even before he went five feet into the home. Anyway, House took notice of the several shelves which contained numerous albums and CD's. He also took a keen interest in the upright piano in the corner of the living room. He was honestly expecting to see fluffy pink pillows lying around everywhere, or mounds of cotton candy on every flat surface. Instead, he saw the practical living styles of Cameron, and probably a side of Cameron that just might be as obsessed with music as much as he was.

MASSIVE turn on.

House's reverie was broken when he heard Cameron's voice speaking.

"Huh?," asked House.

Cameron smiled at House's slight out-of-place-ness. "I said 'do you want anything to drink?'"

"Yeah, sure." House felt uneasy being caught off-guard. "Oh, and these are for you."

House handed Cameron the flowers he had gotten her as an apologetic gift.

"Oh, House, they're beautiful."

Cameron noticed House's nod which was so slight probably because he was shy. He probably thought he was pathetic at the moment. She sensed this and reached up to gently kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear and smiled. Cameron thought she heard a small sigh coming from him, but maybe it was all in her head. She then disappeared into the kitchen. She quickly put the flowers in a stored vase and added some water. She placed it in the center of the dining room table and smiled down at it.

House walked over to the piano. He sat down and let his hands hover over the keys. He never played in front of an audience, but Cameron was different. She wouldn't criticize him about it at all. He knew he had talent. At least that's what everyone else who heard him play had always told him. But he resented gloaters and show-offs. He didn't want to be like that. His ego wasn't _that_ big, yet he had a feeling that he actually _wanted_ to play for Cameron. He had a feeling that he wanted to impress her.

"Here you go," Cameron walked back into the living room with a glass of wine in each hand.

"Oh, thanks," House took a sip. "I didn't know you played."

"Unfortunately, I don't. Well, I used to take lessons. My father forced me to, but the farthest I've ever gotten was Chopsticks. My father played. He was so good. I wish I could hear him play again…," Cameron got lost in her thoughts.

House watched as her mind wandered off. He set his glass atop the piano. At that moment he started playing a nice, soft classical piece he put together himself. It was a tenderly sweet number he usually played when he was by himself, brooding in loneliness. It seemed to always fit his mood of missing someone, and Cameron was missing someone.

He watched out of the corner of his eye. Cameron had seated herself next to him. She was swaying with the music, eyes closed, in another world. When he reached the refrain, which was quite frantic, he saw Cameron's brow furrow.

He suddenly stopped playing.

Cameron opened her eyes. "Why'd you stop?"

"I only play to reminisce about the good things in life."

Cameron nodded and understood that she may have been a little carried away. "Who wrote that? It's wonderful."

"Thanks. Just some guy. You wouldn't know him. You know these classical pianists and their hard-to-pronounce names."

"Try me," Cameron challenged. Her father used to play a very wide ranged selection of songs of all genres, so she was confident that she would be familiar with any artist House would mention.

House sighed. "I wrote it."

Cameron's mouth opened in shock. "Seriously?"

"No."

"You're an ass." Cameron playfully nudged House and sipped away at her wine.

House chuckled. "True, but I actually did write it."

Cameron's mouth reopened. "Seriously?"

House was extremely tempted to say 'no' again. He just loved pushing her buttons, but he had to tell the truth. "Yes. Yes I did," he stated matter-of-factly.

Cameron smiled. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

_What the hell did I just say?_

There was a short period of silence.

The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. Cameron was shocked at his unusual thoughtfulness of words. Heck, House was shocked at his unusual thoughtfulness of words.

"Yeah, uhh, did I just say that? Because in actuality, I meant that you're the ugliest beast-thing that I've ever seen," House covered.

House saw Cameron timidly smile. It was indeed beautiful. She was beautiful.

"So, does that mean that you hired me in order to stare at such an ugly piece of art work in the lobby like me?," Cameron pushed.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. _Phew, saved by the bell_. House exaggeratedly wiped the imaginary sweat off his forehead. Cameron laughed.

"Oh, don't think that you're out of the woods yet, mister," Cameron joked.

Cameron got up from the piano bench to answer the door. House watched as she paid for some things and put a large brown paper bag on the dining room table.

"I ordered some Chinese for us to munch on. That cool?," Cameron called from the dining room.

"Yeah, sure. I'll eat anything if the food doesn't involve those little green and evil pickles," House called back.

Cameron laughed as she came back into the living room and leaned on the wall.

"What's funny?," House asked as he straddled the piano bench to face Cameron.

Cameron just realized that she was laughing. "Oh, I don't know."

"Yes you do."

Cameron sighed and smiled. "It's just that all these little things about you, the cold Rueben, the hate for pickles, the rumpled up shirts… I just think that it all makes you so _extremely_ sexy. Really."

"Oh, yeah?"

Cameron walked towards House, placed her wine glass on the piano, and straddled his lap. "Oh, yes."

House smirked as Cameron brought her lips to his own. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she combed her fingers through his hair.

"You know what makes _you_ sexy?," House asked against Cameron's lips.

"Mmm. What's that?"

"These nice tight ass pants, which should come off, by the way." House gave Cameron's ass a tight squeeze and bucked his hips so she can feel his growing arousal through his jeans.

Cameron gasped and her tongue delved into House's mouth viciously. House unbuttoned Cameron's pants and saw that she was wearing black lacey panties. House's throat rumbled with pleasure.

"Hmm. Those panties are another thing that makes you unbelievably sexy."

Cameron smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yes."

House kissed Cameron fiercely.

House snuck his hand in Cameron's pants. He could feel heat emanating from her core. He began to slowly massage her swollen nub through her panties, but Cameron grabbed his wrist.

House rose a questioning brow. "It's okay, honey. Let the bad man touch you."

He massaged her nub.

Cameron smiled and grabbed his wrist again. "Sex now means cold dinner later," she reasoned.

"You have a microwave."

House began to make circular motions on her nub once again.

"Nh. House…" But she stopped him again.

"Present."

He started again, but once again she stopped him.

"House. Food."

"But Mom!"

"No 'buts'."

"But I just want to get into your pants!"

Cameron finally got up from the piano bench, visibly re-buttoned her pants, and took her forgotten wine. She walked over to the dining room table to put the food onto plates.

"I sure hope that's not true."

House smiled. "If it was true, you'd definitely just give in to my manly bod anyway."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. But after dinner."

Cameron downed the rest of her wine.

"It might actually be an advantage for you. I might be drunk after dinner. So you could do anything you want with me," Cameron added.

House got up and walked towards the table. "Oh, yeah?"

Cameron smiled. "Oh, yes."


End file.
